ABSTRACT
In our contemporary society, information and infl uence campaigns are ubiquitous. From psychological states to nation states, they touch every aspect of contemporary political life. Campaigns are employed by all manner of social, economic, and political actors-advocacy groups, corporations, governments, international organizations, and even insurgent and terrorist groups, among others-for a wide variety of purposes: to condition public opinion and generate support for particular public policies or behaviors; to expand or contract the freedom of action of policymakers, and to shape the menu of policy options among which they choose; to alter the decisions and behaviors of corporations on everything from environmental and employment practices to the design of product lines and determinations of which markets to enter or avoid; to generate legitimacy and acceptance for a wide variety of advocates, regimes, and even insurgencies; to impose the protagonist’s political, social or religious values on other actors; to shape global perceptions of acts of violence (Do they constitute terrorism?); to mitigate perceptions of weakness following acts of concession; and many more. Though we seldom pause to recognize and observe these campaigns, or to credit them with infl uencing our own behaviors or those of our institutions,
they nonetheless-or perhaps for that very reason-play a central role in what we take to be democratic life. They shape and channel debate on many of the most central issues of the day, and many others far more obscure.
